Phillies remain No. 1 but AL starting to assert its dominance

It was a tough week for National League contenders. St. Louis, of course, was dealt the worst blow in losing Albert Pujols to a wrist fracture and has now lost 9 of 11. But most of the top NL teams took some interleague lumps.

The Phillies lost two of three to the Mariners; the Brewers lost consecutive series to the Red Sox and Rays; the Giants have lost four of five to the As and Twins; the Reds lost two straight series to the Blue Jays and Yankees; the Diamondbacks lost a series to the White Sox before taking one from the Royals; the Braves split series, losing to Texas and beating Toronto. Only the Rockies won consecutive series, defeating the Tigers and Indians, though that only returned Colorado's overall record to .500 for the season.

Though the first interleague weekend in May was played to a 21-21 stalemate, the American League has rallied in the second session with a 45-35 advantage. The AL is again asserting itself over the NL in the standings and now in the SI.com MLB Power Rankings, as six of the top nine teams hail from the Junior Circuit.

NOTE: All stats are updated through Wednesday, June 22.

MLB Power Rankings